FPSO specialist eyes 2 GW of floating offshore wind

The Netherlands-based provider of systems and services to the offshore oil and gas industry has revealed its ambition to co-develop or participate as a technology or turnkey provider in 2 GW of floating wind projects over the next decade.

SBM Offshore, the floating production and mooring systems (FPSO) specialist, is already participating in several floating wind projects.

These include the Llŷr project, which covers the lease of two 100 MW floating wind test and demonstration sites in the Celtic Sea, for which the Crown Estate confirmed an intention to move forward with the lease process.

The formal award will be subject to a Habitats Regulations Assessment, following which, the project will progress with environmental assessments and surveys in line with the regulatory consent processes.

SBM Offshore has taken a position of a co-developer in the Llŷr project, and potentially other floating wind projects, with the establishment of the joint venture Floventis Energy with Cierco Ltd.

Floventis Energy seeks to secure seabed rights and relevant permits, to develop and implement state-of-the-art technologies for floating offshore wind activities, the Dutch company said.

SBM Offshore’s ambition as project co-developer is to enhance the positioning of its technology in the market. As such, the company is also targeting rights in various other regions of the world.

The current opportunities for the floating offshore wind market amount to at least 6 GW for the next decade, SBM Offshore said, adding that this is expected to grow significantly over the next few years.

The company’s ambition is to co-develop or participate as a technology or turnkey provider in 2 GW of this existing global pipeline.

SBM Offshore expects the total associated development expenditure over the next seven to eight years to be between US$ 150 to US$ 200 million. The investments will be generally phased so that significant de-risking of returns has occurred before the final investment decision, committing most of the expenditure, is taken.

Through the further development and optimization of its technology, focusing on obtaining cost benefits from enhanced design and scale-up, SBM Offshore said that the company is on the pathway towards a competitive levelized cost of electricity.

Another floating wind project in which SBM Offshore is involved is the 25 MW Provence Grand Large wind farm offshore France.

The wind farm will comprise three Siemens Gamesa wind turbines installed on floating foundations that will be manufactured by SBM Offshore. The company will also manufacture the moorings for the project.

Assembly of the first sub-components has started as planned for the floating substructures to be ready for load-out and installation at the end of 2022. This project is on track to be the first floating offshore wind project worldwide installed with tensioned leg platform technology, SBM Offshore said.